American Indian and Indigenous Cultures

Catalog description

This course examines culture change among American Indian and Indigenous peoples in North America, with a focus on the lived experiences, voices, distinct ways of knowing and unique forms of social and cultural expression of these populations from pre-Columbian to contemporary times. Issues including settler colonialism, Indigenous knowledge, identity, belonging, citizenship and sovereignty, myth-making, gender, health and well-being, creativity, and protest and resistance are examined to gain insight to both unique historical trajectories and allow comparison of broad-based cultural dynamics. This course integrates the multiple, often diverging, perspectives of historians, novelists, educators, activists, anthropologists, film directors, scientists and more in the study of American Indian and Indigenous culture history.